The Moment of Expiation of Sinful Karma in Pure Land Buddhism: Focused on the Case of Tanluan

It is said in the first of eight dialogues of the Commentary by Tanluan 曇鸞 on the Upadeśa on the Sūtras of Limitless Life that the transgression of the five gravest offences can be expiated. According to this theory, the expiation occurs in the inside of a lotus. Thus the lotus bud is a kind of purgatory. From this, we can say that there are three types of expiation: that of pre-rebirth in the lotus bud, that of post-rebirth in the lotus bud, and that achieved after the blooming of the lotus. This leads to the possibility that expiation is possible in the pure land, while it is generally thought that beings have to make up for the transgression of the five gravest offences while in this world.